Medicare mulls expanded coverage for implanted defibrillators

Research boosting the benefits of implanted cardiac defibrillators in saving lives has prompted Medicare to consider expanding its coverage of the expensive devices. Medicare currently pays about $25,000 per patient for the devices, which are implanted in about 40,000 patients with congestive heart failure each year, but the number of covered patients may be expanded to include less severe cases of congestive heart failure.